JP2003327159A - Vehicle body structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure rigidity and strength of a body required for safety in severe crash, while reducing weight and cost. <P>SOLUTION: An end part of an outer side panel 1 in an area assembled with a reinforcement member 10 for local reinforcement out of a skeleton part 7 assembled to opening edges of door opening parts 3a, 3b of a side outer panel 1 and assembled with a lower reinforcement member 8 for main reinforcement in an inside is cut out to prohibit flange coupling to the lower reinforcement member 8 for the main reinforcement, an end part of the reinforcement member 10 for the local reinforcement 10 is flange-coupled, in lieu thereof, to a flange coupling part coupling the lower reinforcement 8 for the main reinforcement to an inner panel member 4b, and the rigidity and the strength is enhanced by the mutual coupling of the reinforcement members 8, 10 to enhance the rigidity and the strength around door opening parts. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle body structure in which a plurality of lean hose members are housed in a skeleton of a door opening.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In automobiles, in order to ensure safety, the rigidity of the opening edge of the door opening formed in the vehicle body is ensured. Normally, the opening edge of the door opening formed in the side outer panel has a hat-shaped cross section, and an inner panel member having a substantially hat-shaped cross section is flange-connected along the opening edge to form a skeleton portion having a closed cross section. Is being done.

In recent years, in order to secure higher rigidity and strength, not only is a lean hose member for a pillar, which is a main reinforcement, installed in a skeleton portion having a closed cross-section, but a bulk portion which locally reinforces each portion together with it. Assembling a local reinforcement lean hose member such as a head is performed.

By the way, since each member around the door opening is made of a metal panel member, generally, the panel members constituting the skeleton are joined together and the lean hose members are joined together by welding, mainly. Spot welding is used.

However, in spot welding, when two panel members or three panel members are overlapped and welded at one time, the required bonding strength is sufficiently secured, but four panel members or more panel members are secured. When overlapping and welding at the same time, there is a possibility that the required bonding strength cannot be secured.

Therefore, conventionally, when two lean hose members for main reinforcement and local reinforcement are assembled together between an outer panel member and an inner panel member having closed cross-sections, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-272538. As shown, the main reinforcement lean hose member has flanges formed on both sides of the lean hose member between the flanges on both sides of the substantially hat-shaped outer panel member and the flanges on both sides of the substantially hat-shaped inner panel member. It is sandwiched and the 3
The means for spot-welding the other flange and locally attaching the remaining locally-reinforced lean hose member to, for example, the inner surface of the main-reinforced lean hose member have been taken.

[0007]

By the way, in automobiles, it is required to secure safety in a considerably severe collision such as an offset side collision.

In order to secure the safety at the time of this collision, it is required to improve the bending rigidity and the torsional rigidity of the vehicle body. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the vehicle body rigidity by locally reinforcing the skeleton portion of the door opening, thereby improving the bending rigidity and the torsional rigidity of the vehicle body.

However, since the locally reinforced lean hose member cannot perform spot welding in which many members are superposed due to the above-mentioned restriction of welding, the plate thickness of each member is a means for ensuring rigidity. By increasing the thickness, the required vehicle body strength is secured and the rigidity is improved.

However, the use of such a member having a large plate thickness significantly increases the weight of the vehicle body,
A considerable cost burden is imposed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to secure the rigidity and strength of a vehicle body required for safety in a severe collision while reducing weight and cost. To provide an excellent body structure.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to an area of a side outer panel where a lean hose member for local reinforcement is arranged, and an end of the area. The evacuation part that retreats the part from the flange coupling part that forms the skeleton is formed, and instead of the end of the retracted side outer panel, the end of the lean hose member for local reinforcement incorporated in the skeleton is mainly reinforced. We have adopted a structure in which the flange connection part of the lean hose member and the inner panel member is used for flange connection.

When the main reinforcing lean hose member and the local reinforcing lean hose member are flange-connected to the inner panel member, high rigidity and strength contributing to bending and torsional rigidity of the vehicle body are secured.

Therefore, the rigidity and strength around the door opening can be increased without increasing the plate thickness.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rigidity of the part where the rigidity and strength are most required without lowering the appearance,
In order to increase the strength, the retreat portion is formed in the side outer panel portion corresponding to the region where the door hinge of the front door is arranged, and at the point of the retreated side outer panel, the second lean hose member is replaced with the first lean hose member. A structure is adopted in which a flange is connected to the flange connecting portion of the inner panel member.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below based on the first embodiment shown in FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a car body, for example, a car body of a four-door passenger car having front doors and rear doors on both sides.
FIG. 2 shows an appearance of a front side of a side structure that constitutes a side part of the vehicle body, FIG. 2 shows a cross section taken along line AA, and FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the side structure. .

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a side outer panel constituting the outermost side of the side structure. Side outer panel 1
Is composed of a metal panel member formed into an outer shape that conforms to the shape of the side portion of the vehicle body. In this side outer panel 1, a front pillar lower panel portion 1b and a fender panel 1c (only a part of which are shown) are integrally formed to be continuous with a lower portion of the front pillar outer panel portion 1a and form a root side (lower portion) of the front pillar. I am doing it.

At the center of the side outer panel 1, a slender center pillar outer panel portion 2 extending in the vertical direction is provided.
An opening that is partitioned by a into a front side and a rear side is formed. The front side opening surrounded by the front pillar outer panel portion 1a, the front pillar lower panel portion 1b, and the side sill outer panel portion 1c is the front entrance / exit 3a, and the rear pillar outer panel portion (not shown) and the rear sill outer panel portion 1c are located on the rear side. The opening is a rear entrance / exit 3b (both correspond to the door opening of the present application).

The front pillar outer panel portion 1a, the front pillar lower panel portion 1b, the center pillar outer panel portion 2a, the rear pillar outer panel portion (not shown), and the side sill outer panel portion 1c are all formed in a hat-shaped cross section having flanges 5 on both sides in the width direction. I am doing it.

Of these, the front pillar outer panel portion 1a and the front pillar lower panel portion 1b have front pillar lower inner panel members 4 as shown in FIG.
a, 4b, front pillar upper inner panel member 4c
Work together. A center pillar inner panel portion (not shown) is combined with the center pillar outer panel portion 2a.
A rear pillar inner panel portion (not shown) is combined with the rear pillar outer panel portion (not shown). A side sill inner panel portion (not shown) is combined with the side sill outer panel portion 1c. Each panel member has a hat-shaped cross section having flanges 6 on both sides in the width direction. And each inner panel member is joined by welding of the flanges 5 and 6, for example, spot welding. As a result, a skeleton, that is, a closed cross-section formed by a combination of the hat-shaped cross section of the side outer panel 1 and the hat-shaped cross section of each inner panel member is provided over the entire opening edge of the front entrance 3a and the rear entrance 3b. Skeleton 7
Is formed.

Of the skeletons 7 surrounding the entrances / exits 3a, 3b, the skeletons of the front pillars, specifically, the front pillar outer panel part 1a and the front pillar lower panel part 1b, and the front pillar lower inner panel parts 4a, 4b. Between the front pillar upper panel member 4c and the front pillar upper panel member 4c, as shown in FIG.
(Corresponding to a lean hose member) and a front pillar up line hose member 9 are incorporated. Further, a bulkhead member 10 (corresponding to a second lean hose member of the present application), which is responsible for local reinforcement, is incorporated together with the front pillar lower areen hose member 8 on the lower side of the skeleton portion. The lean hose members 8 and 9 and the bulkhead member 10
Is composed of a panel member made of metal.

More specifically, the front pillar loreen hose member 8 is formed on a cross-section portion 11 having a substantially hat-shaped cross section extending in the vertical direction and a flange portion of the cross-section portion 11 which greatly projects toward the entrance / exit 3a side. And a support seat 12 for a door hinge. The support seat 12 is a portion to which a hinge 13a (illustrated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2) for opening and closing a front door 13 (illustrated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2) is mounted. The flanges 14 formed on both sides in the vehicle front-rear direction (width direction) of the front pillar loreen hose member 8
However, as shown in FIG. 2, the flanges 5 of the front pillar lower outer panel member 1b and the flanges 6 of the front pillar lower inner panel portions 4a and 4b are sandwiched between the joints (corresponding to flange joints). Then, by spot-welding these three flanges at once, the entire front pillar lower areen hose member 8 is assembled between the front pillar lower outer panel member 1b and the front pillar lower inner panel parts 4a, 4b,
The rigidity and strength of the skeleton 7 are increased.

The bulkhead 10 is assembled, for example, in the middle stage of the front pillar Aroen hose member 8. The bulkhead 10 is a member used for transmitting an impact from the front portion of the vehicle body to the skeleton portion 7 through a front side member (not shown), and provides rigidity and strength to withstand the transmitted impact. The bulkhead 10 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
It has a U-shape that bends up and down as shown in. A flange 16 is formed on the peripheral edge of the pair of side walls 15b standing upright from the bottom surface 15a. A flange 17 extending toward the entrance / exit 3a is formed at the end of the bottom surface 15a on the entrance / exit 3a side. As shown in FIG. 2, the bulkhead 10 is joined, for example, by spot welding so that the flanges 16 and the inner surfaces of the cross-section portion 11 overlap each other, and is assembled in the middle stage of the front pillar lower outer panel member 8. is there. In other words, the bulkhead 10 enhances the rigidity and strength of the required portion.

The bulkhead 10 (lean hose member for local reinforcement) is a front pillar-roarene hose member 8.
When it is assembled into the skeleton 7 together with the skeleton 7, it is usually forced to join only the inner surface of the front pillar-lo-areen hose member 8 due to the restriction of spot welding. Hard to say.

However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the bulkhead 10 is attached to the flange joint portion between the lean hose member 8 and the inner panel member 4b, and the structure is established. We are improving such points.

Explaining this point, for example, the end of the front pillar lower outer panel portion 1b on the entrance / exit side is a flange end so that the entire support seat 12 is exposed to the outside as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, for example. To the vicinity of the cross-sectional portion 11 in the middle of the front side. By forming the cutout portion 18, the bulkhead 10 (for local reinforcement)
The end portion of the outer panel portion 1b in the area where is attached is retracted. The exposed part is the front door 1.
The part hidden by the front end face of 3 and the front door 1
Since the support seat 12 is hidden by the inner surface of 3, the deterioration of appearance is suppressed.

The cutout portion 18 (corresponding to the retracting portion)
A flange 19 formed at the tip of the end of the is welded to the outer surface of the cross-section 11. As a result, the front pillar lower outer panel portion 1b in the region where the cutout portion 18 is formed has a closed cross-section in cooperation with the flange coupling portion on the front side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the flange 17 of the bulkhead 10 on the side of the entrance / exit 3a is sandwiched between the flange portion 14 of the front pillar lower line hose member 8 and the flange 6 of the front pillar lower panel portion 1b. is there. Then, the flanges of these three members are joined by welding, for example, spot welding. That is, instead of the notched end portion of the side outer panel portion, the end portion of the bulkhead 10 is joined to the flange joint portion of the front pillar lower inner panel member 4b and the front pillar lower areen hose member 8. Thus, the unreinforced main pillar front allo-roan hose member 8 and the local reinforcing bulkhead 10 are combined by flange connection so as to be continuous in relation to the front pillar lower inner panel member 4b.

As a result, the mutual coupling force between the lean hose members 8 and 9 is increased, and high rigidity and strength contributing to bending and torsional rigidity of the vehicle body are secured.

Therefore, each of the entrances / exits 3 without increasing the plate thickness
The rigidity and strength around a and 3b (door opening) can be enhanced, and the rigidity and strength of the vehicle body that can withstand a severe impact can be secured while achieving weight saving and cost reduction.

In addition, such a structure has the front door 1
Since the hinge 13a of No. 3 is adopted for the skeleton part to be assembled, the rigidity and strength of the part (the part that receives the impact from the front part of the vehicle body) where the built-in object is not exposed to the surrounding eyes and the rigidity and strength are the most required. Can be reasonably improved.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, an example of using the lean hose member in which the support seat for supporting the door hinge is formed, but there is no support seat as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. It may also be applied to a pillar structure. In FIG. 4, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the example in which the front pillar-lo-aline hose member and the bulkhead which are built in together with the front pillar are used is given. However, other door openings to which a plurality of lean hose members are assembled are attached. You may apply to a skeleton part. In this case, the structure of the second embodiment may be used. Of course, the present invention may be applied to the vehicle bodies of vehicles having other doors than the vehicle having four doors.

[0035]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1, the main reinforcement lean hose member and the local reinforcement lean hose member are flange-joined together to the inner panel member. It is possible to secure high rigidity and strength that contribute to bending and torsional rigidity of the vehicle body by increasing the mutual coupling force of the members.

Therefore, the rigidity and strength around the door opening can be increased without increasing the plate thickness of the member, and the rigidity and strength of the vehicle body that can withstand a severe impact can be secured while achieving weight saving and cost reduction. .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the internal components are not exposed to the eyes of the surroundings, and the rigidity and strength in the skeleton portion on the front side of the front door, where the rigidity and strength are most required, can be reasonably improved. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer appearance of a front side of a side structure which is a main part of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an exploded side structure.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view for explaining a structure of a main part of a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Side outer panel 3a, 3b ... Entrance / exit (door opening) 4b ... Front pillar lower inner panel member (inner panel member) 7 ... Skeleton part 8 ... Front pillar low arene hose member (first lean hose member) 10 ... Bulk Head (second lean hose member) 18 ... Notch (retraction part).

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A side outer panel having a door opening, and an opening edge of the door opening having a hat-shaped cross section, and a flange having a side cross-section closed along the opening edge of the side outer panel by flange coupling with the side outer panel. An inner panel member having a hat-shaped cross section that forms a skeleton, a first lean hose member for main reinforcement that is sandwiched between flange joints of the skeleton and assembled in the skeleton, and the inside of the skeleton And a second lean hose member for local reinforcement assembled together with the first lean hose member, in the region of the side outer panel in which the second lean hose member is disposed, An end portion of the second lean hose member is formed in place of the end portion of the retracted side outer panel by forming a retracting portion for retracting the end portion of the region from the flange coupling portion of the skeleton portion. Vehicle body structure, characterized in that to flange coupled with serial first reinforcement member to the flange coupling portion of said inner panel member. 2. The retreat portion is formed of a side outer panel portion corresponding to a region in which a door hinge of a front door is arranged, and at the retreated side outer panel portion, the end portion of the second lean hose member is provided with the first outer portion. 1. A lean hose member and a flange connecting portion of the inner panel member are flange-bonded to each other.
Body structure described in.